Safety catch



May 19, 1936. E MOREHOUSE SAFETY CATCH Filed NOV. 23, 1934 INVENTOR. Jivyerze,/%r%o1z3e ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 19, 1936 PATENT OFFICE SAFETY CATCH Eugene Morehouse, Providence, R. 1., assignor to B. A. Ballou & 00., Inc., a corporation of Rhode Island Application November 23, 1934, Serial No. 754,436

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a safety catch; and has for one of its objects the provision of means to prevent portions of the catch from spreading.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lock to prevent separation of the side portions of the catch, which house the movable portion of the catch and which look may be easily and quickly positioned to retain the parts in fixed relationship. 1

Another object of the invention is the provision of a recess in one part and a projection or finger on the other part to extend across and enter the recess, and at the same time extend over a portion of the recessed part to prevent the parts from separating.

A further object of. the invention is the provision of solderless means for holding two parts after bent into adjacency in their assembled relation such as by the deflection of one part over the other part to secure this desired result.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the catch, showing the rotor or gate in closed position.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the catch showing the locking finger at the end of the catch for holding the parts in fixed assembled relation.

Fig. 3 is an end view looking at the opposite end of the catch from that shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an end view illustrating the two ears as partially moved to final position and showing more distinctly the locking finger at the tip of one ear and extending towards the opposite ear.

It sometimes occurs during the use or handling of a device having a safety catch secured thereon, or during the polishing to which this safety catch is subjected that a separation occurs of the hook ears which are folded up to form the side portion of the catch and hold the rotor or gate for locking the pin shank in the hook so as to loosen the rotor which frictionally moves therein to such an extent that it moves more easily than is desired; and in order that these ears may be firmly locked in fixed assembled relation, I have provided a recess in one ear and a finger integral with the other ear and which extends across the juncture of the ears and over the opposite ear and into this recess so that the ears are locked or held in fixed position; and I have chosen to locate this finger and recess at the tip of the hook-shaped end of the ear so that a long leverage is obtainable With respect to the point of bending of the cars from the base for better supporting the ears one from the other and in contiguous assembled relation; and the following is a more detailed description of the present embodiment of this invention illustrating the preferred means by which these advantages results may be accomplished:

With reference to the drawing, l6 and H designate the opposite ears of my safety catch, which are usually formed in a generally single plane by a striking operation and then folded as at [2, toward each other so that their surfaces l3 and I4 are brought into contiguous relation, the shank portions [5 and It being integral thru the connecting base portions l! at the fold, providing a surface l8 which is enlarged by ribs or suitable projections IS on the sides of the ears l0 and II for soldering this surface of the base to the article to which it is to be attached. This base I8 is shown in Fig. 4 as soldered to some suitable support as at 20, illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

A groove 2! is provided in each of the ears l0 and l I which cooperate to provide a closed channel for the reception of a gate or rotor 22 shaped correspondingly to the shape of the groove in the ears, which may be moved in this channel 2! to project its end portion 23 to close the opening 24 between the tip or end of the hook-shaped ear 2B and the portion 25 thereof, as clearly seen in Fig. 1. The shank or back 27 of these combined hook-shaped ears is slotted by a notch formed in each so as to receive a handle portion 28 provided on the rotor gate 22 for manipulating it to and from closed and opened positions.

The ears are moved into continguous relation so that the surfaces [3 and I4 abut and thus inclose and hold the rotor 22 in position and to maintain this relation fixed I provide an additional support for these ears so that should a pressure or strain occur thereon tending to open or bend them outwardly to the position from which they have been bent, such as illustrated in Fig. 4, such movement will be resisted and prevented. I accomplish this locking and at the same time provide a smooth construction without any projection by providing a recess 30 in the shorter ear ID at its hook-shaped end and a finger 32 on the hook-shaped end SI of the lower ear I I so as to extend across the tip of the ear l0 and be folded into the recess 30, such as shown at 33, in Fig. 2.

By means of this finger extending across the tip or end 25 of the hook and folded into the recess, the two ears are locked securely in place and prevented from separating one from the other due to any strain which ordinarily occurs in usage or in polishing the emblem or ornament to which the safety catch is attached.

The tip at end does not interfere with the rotor and yet provides a smooth surface against which the tip 23 thereof is engaged when closing the opening to the hook-shaped portion of the clasp.

The foregoing description is directed solely towards the construction illustrated, but I desire it to be understood that I reserve the privilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to which the device is susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A safety catch comprising a base with a pair of hook-shaped ears extending therefrom, means for securing said ears in fixed relation at said base, hook closure means movably mounted between said ears, and a finger provided on one ear at the hook tip thereof and extending across the tip of the other hook ear and bent over a portion thereof to hold the ears in fixed relation against separation and maintain said closure means in operative position therein.

2. A safety catch comprising a base with a pair of hook-shaped ears extending therefrom, means for securing said ears in fixed relation at said base, means movably mounted between said ears to close the opening between the hook tip and the base end of said ears, and a finger provided on one ear at the hook tip thereof and extending laterally across the end of the tip of the other hook ear and bent lengthwise of the hook over the tip portion thereof to hold the ears in fixed relation and present a smooth lateral end surface at the hook tip with which said movable closure means may cooperate.

3. A safety catch comprising a pair of hookshaped ears secured together at their base, one of said ears being provided with a recess at a point spaced from the base thereof, hook closure means movably mounted between said ears, and a finger provided on the other ear at substantially the same distance from the base thereof extending across the other ear and into said recess to hold the ears in fixed relation and present a seamless surface with which said closure means may contact.

4. A safety catch comprising a pair of hookshaped ears secured together at their base, one of said ears being provided with a recess at a point spaced from the base thereof and adjacent the tip end thereof, a rotor movably mounted between said ears to close the opening between the hook tip and the base end of said ears, and a finger provided on the other ear at substantially the same distance from the base thereof and adjacent the tip end thereof extending across the tip portion of the other ear and into said recess to hold the ears in fixed relation.

5. A safety catch, a pair of hook-shaped ears secured to a base and in contiguous relation, a rotor movably mounted between said ears, and a finger provided on one ear at the tip thereof to extend across the tip of the other car and present a seamless surface with which the rotor may contact.

6. A safety catch, a pair of hook-shaped ears secured to a base and in contiguous relation, a rotor movably mounted between said ears, and a finger provided on one ear at the tip thereof to extend across the tip of the other ear and over a portion of the opposite ear to hold the ears in contact and present a seamless surface with which the rotor may contact.

EUGENE MOREHOUSE. 

